The pandemic has forced many organizations to re-evaluate their marketing strategies to stay relevant with how today’s evolving customers choose to do business. However, the last few years have been plagued with obstacles and uncertainty, and 2022 is still in its infancy, making it difficult to predict the future accurately. Here are some marketing challenges businesses continue to face and some solutions for how to successfully navigate forward.
Challenge #1 – How to stand out from the competition
With more and more businesses entering a crowded field, all looking for their share of the market, it can be challenging to stand out from the competition. As a result, differentiating has become difficult, causing many customers to shop by price, transforming businesses that were once leaders in their industry into nothing more than commodities. The need to differentiate today is one of the greatest marketing challenges.
The solution:
It might be time to refresh your brand. Often an overlooked opportunity, a brand refresh forces you to re-examine what your brand represents to your target customers and if it’s still relevant today. A brand refresh also shows customers that you’re forward-thinking and committed to modern marketing strategies to help support and grow your business. The old-fashioned notion that a brand can remain unaltered is unrealistic when customers have grown not only more demanding but more sophisticated too.
Challenge #2 – A lack of educational resources
As new customers enter the gardening and landscaping area, they lack the knowledge necessary to understand what options are available, what solutions are effective, and how to combine both to succeed. If your target audience doesn’t view you as a leading voice in the conversation, they will put their trust in other businesses and resources.
The solution:
First, you must understand your target audience and create content specifically tailored to that group. Your content should express an understanding of their pain points with simple solutions they can apply on their own. Make sure you answer their questions in easily understood language while still providing them with the industry vocabulary, which will prove helpful in the future. Blogs and social media posts are a great way to get started sharing targeted, educational content.
Challenge #3 – Understanding and keeping up to date with changing COVID-19 expectations
The impact of the pandemic is far from over, and businesses will need to continue to be flexible, even when developing future marketing plans and growth targets. The pandemic certainly presents marketing challenges many of us never thought of previously.
The solution:
The important thing to do is to be transparent and authentic when communicating with your target audience. Listen to their concerns and find ways to assist them, whether it’s through shared content, videos, or social media posts. Staying connected to your customers through the unexpected ups and downs helps reassure customers that your relationship is valuable while providing some normalcy by making your products and services conveniently and safely available.
The HC Companies